If a common thread of pilot error runs through AAs accident record, then that is a weakness they need to address. But in the real world any airline will have weaknesses it needs to address. And overall, AA doesn't seem to have a better (or worse) accident rate than its peers.
Similarly the MD80 seems to have a similar accident rate to the B737, which is about the same as the (admittedly newer) A319/A320/A321.
If some some of the practioners feel this thread is being hijacked by statistics perhaps that is because they would rather rely on blind prejudice than facts.
Ducks under the seat, confident the bullet proof door that now divides us works both ways!